Fist Held High

Originally hailing from Chicago, Thrust is a heavy metal band whose song 'Destructer' made it onto Metal Blade Records' Metal Massacre IV compilation in 1983. From there, they were signed to the label and released their debut, Fist Held High, in late 1984. But is it any good? Let's find out...

The first immediately apparent positive is that the album sounds remarkably good for its time. This was thanks to Brian Slagel and Bill Metoyer, both of whom were also involved with the production of Slayer's debut album. The guitars' presences are felt front and centre, the bass is quite audible and the drum tones are clear and punchy; the vocals being a bit quiet doesn't detract too much from what's otherwise an excellent mix. But speaking of vocals, they're unfortunately the weakest link on the album, possessing hardly a trace of melody, which makes the high-pitched shouts that dominate this record especially grating after a while.

This album has plenty of aggressive moments aided by the strong production, and the NWOBHM influences that bring the intensity a cut above Judas Priest are evident on tracks like 'Overdrive', 'Metallic Attack' and 'Thrasher'. The fastest song, the title track, is the definite highlight of the album, but still barely faster than Priest's 'Freewheel Burning'. This lack of speed isn't necessarily a deal-breaker however, and the band shows their versatility in slower, lengthier numbers like the 8 minute 'Freedom Fighters', as well as 'Torture Chamber', which is an unorthodox track featuring a stomping groove to enhance the tension. Finally, the last track titled 'Posers Will Die!' shows the band's more humorous side and is a fun closer, especially with the shouts of "DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!" at the end.

These guys were one of the earliest bands to get a full-length release on Metal Blade, coming just after Fates Warning and Voivod. But whereas those bands went on to improve greatly from their debuts, Thrust's momentum came to a grinding halt. The band went into limbo shortly after their debut, and wouldn't produce a follow-up for almost two decades, by which point they were almost forgotten. Overall, Fist Held High is a decent effort that sits in an awkward position between heavy and speed metal, with some traces of the emerging USPM genre. Without excelling at either, it consequently lacks staying power, only redeemed by the production quality of a mix that just wasn't capturing the best material.

"Tip of the Metal Blade" is a review series delving into some of the most obscure bands on Metal Blade Records' roster during the 1980s.

The Metal Archives, perhaps you know this website, lists Thrust under heavy / power metal. That's okay, even if their here reviewed debut has a song called "Thrasher". Nevertheless, I feel the wish to add that some of their pieces border on thrash metal. Indeed, these guys had definitely no affinity for posers of all kind and their pure metal has a lot of aggressive sections. Especially the opening title track and "Metallic Attack" demonstrate that the guys do not shy away from thrash-compatible sounds. But let's have a look at the big picture.

Thrust's debut offers eight songs with a more than solid foundation. There can be no doubt that the metallic substance of this album forms a competitive output. The guitar riffs, lines and leads shape fast aggressors ("Fist Held High"), epic battle chants ("Freedom Fighters") and horror scenarios ("Torture Chamber"). In short, they are variable and the same applies for the lead vocals. John Bonata's voice is probably not everyone's cup of tea due to some nerve-shattering screams. But his style of singing expresses both power and passion and he manages a pretty wide spectrum of tones. Therefore it would be unfair to reduce his performance on the slightly questionable screams.

Thrust did not get much attention and I cannot believe that it was only the fault of the poor and stereotyped artwork, even though it is definitely poor and stereotyped. Yet I rather think that the quintet from Illinois did not find its position in a world of black and white. The metal scene, once a homogeneous block of outsiders, was drifting apart and, as mentioned above, Thrust did not really play thrash metal. Their vigorous style had a lot of traditional elements and razor-sharp riffs that make your ears bleed are as rare as crustcore partys in a Bavarian monastery. Unfortunately, exactly the above-mentioned song "Thrasher" marks the stinker of the album due to its relatively expressionless verses and chorus. Maybe the group felt instinctively that thrash metal is not their core competency and so they were neither thrashers nor posers.

Speaking of posers, the album ends with "Posers Will Die!". A pious hope. I have read that Joey DeMaio, Sabaton and Helloween are still alive - more than 33 years after the release of Thrust's debut. What the hell went wrong? Historically ambitioned metal heads will clarify this issue for sure. But my topic is the more or less underrated album from 1984 which shines with some catchy choruses, carefree vitality and robust structures. If you ever wanted to know how a bastard of Destructor and Helstar sounds, "Fist Held High" might be the record you were looking for. Perhaps you agree, otherwise you have to keep on searching. Maybe this website called The Metal Archives will help you to be successful.

Excavating the dusty and urine-stained mausoleum of 80s metal often uncovers jewels of unfathomable worth, forgotten items rendered obscure by factors too exhaustive to list. Thanks to the internet and the growing interest in heavy metal, some of these gems may now reach new listeners and find the glory they so rightfully deserved many years ago. It turns out, as it always does, a number of these artifacts were probably swept under the rug for good reasons. Thrust, a heavy metal group from Chicago, captures without fault the more tedious and uninspiring edge of 80s metal throughout “Fist Held High,” released way back in 1984. The nuance and grace of heavy metal legends at the time is something “Fist Held High” can’t grasp, as though its hands were coated in grease as the chunk of rousing songwriting and captivating instrumental performances caught by some simply rolled off its fingers and thudded on the turf.

What Thrust does on “Fist Held High” sounds awesome in theory: the style and structure of Judas Priest driven marginally by the tenacity of speed/thrash metal bands in the vein of Exciter. Fascinatingly, the album completely lacks riffs with any bite, though the flairs of Priest and the slight speed metal influence color up the forgettable sequences to an extent. Another huge thing bogging down on this is the songwriting, which is utterly abysmal. Thrust mastered early on the art of repeating choruses over and over and over and over again—choruses that are pretty lame to begin with, mind you—without a sense of poise. These tracks manage to drone on for a few minutes, throwing out powerless Priest-driven riffs that are straightforward and harmless, while Thrust goes through the motions. Despite its appearance, this is not exciting stuff.

The vocals are what deserve a rotten tomato to the face more than anything else. You know, as a heavy metal fan, you sort of get used to singers who suck but make sense in context—take Dave Mustaine’s work in classic Megadeth. These vocals, though, are absolutely insufferable. The dude here does this pseudo-falsetto thing that sounds like a speed metal vocalist gargling razor blades. His lower vocals remind me vaguely of King Diamond's, and they actually sound all right, but he mostly sticks to his Muppet mating call. Things get a little adventurous on “Freedom Fighters,” but the eight-minute running time is wasted on repetition and the sheer lack of quality riffs and structures causing “Fist Held High” to sink. A valiant effort to branch out, but still no cigar.

Pointing out what “Fist Held High” gets right is much simpler than listing the far-reaching list of what it doesn’t. The energy manages to brush up the general triteness surrounding these tunes, obviously enriched by care and the spirit of steel. The essence and jubilance of the metallic spirit help make the release a bit more tolerable, but energy itself has a hard time defending the utter banality of Thrust and their cult debut. The best song here is “Torture Chamber,” a bit of a thrash-inspired number that rocks like an Exciter track always on the verge of exploding, and it works pretty well when it hits its peak. “Thrasher” lives up to its name, finally kicking the lackluster riffing attack into gear. There are six other cuts here that miss the mark in various degrees, only providing brief moments of heavy metal ecstasy. If we could cut the crap from “Fist Held High,” there wouldn’t be much left.

This review was written for: www.Thrashpit.com

“…as the sky fell and the ground cracked, we rose up to begin our attack…”

Chicago’s Thrust were one of those bands that stood tall with chins firm as they hung the metal banner across their slender style that’s emblematic of those lost early days. Sure, ’84 isn’t archaically crusty or anything, but it was a cusp year for metal, and a larger aural beast had already stirred to life, but with Fist Held High the five-piece wavered not in what they trusted as a style. Unfortunately, with really no status whatsoever in the underground today, the group never ascended beyond their early and now rarefied split with The Lazer Band called Solidarnosc Rock For Poland from two years prior.

Fist Held High thumps its chest and fogs up this disc with the breath of early power metal. Unambiguous in its charge and in direct control of what it wants, the lp rolls along not quite like the spiked ball on the cover, but with enough attitude to keep massive traditionalists somewhat at bay. For a little diversity, shallow rivers of light speed trickle into a few tracks for a sound that’s perhaps a year after prime; by all means charming in an after-the-fact reverie, but these aren’t the ingredients of Thrust I spray with homage. Remindful of Exciter with a medium-sized power supply running on a cleaner, lower octane fuel, the five-piece heat intensity to a point that’s a few degrees from bursting, and then happily maintain that just-below-the-surface level for about the whole album. While uncommon, the style isn’t scarce.

What Thrust does most delectably is capture the unmuzzled essence of metal, striding unperturbed through high anthemic waters, kinda like the way AC/DC’s “For Those About To Rock, We Salute You” lit cannons and fired upon everyone lifting jazz-clogged noses in the air toward its style of ultimate choice. With one stud-gloved hand Fist Held High crushes every apology metal has ever made while the other slugs you dead in the noggin with genre-spanning pride and commitment. C’mon, with die-for-the-cause titles like “Metallic Attack”, “Heavier Than Hell”, “Thrasher”, and “Posers will Die!”, you know their refrigerators were chock full with this stuff ‘cos they made meals out of it.

Screeched, strangled and scathed, but seldom cleanly sung, John Bonata doesn’t stray too far from another Exciter relationship, but as Beehler stampedes more wild-eyed in his screamy grandeur, Bonata’s notes take on something suffocated and squelched, tying Cirith Ungol/King of the Dead-era/Tim Baker and strained Trouble/E. Wagner together with a spearheaded fragment of Blitz Ellsworth.

Since the lp’s route is outwardly undemanding, aesthetics based on freeform or the halfway dexterous steer pretty clear of the road leading to most of these tracks, tracks that are nonetheless confident in their unproblematic adrenalized Motorhead-meets-Crossfire-meets-underpowered Exciter gaze. Motorized most in this department is the chorus-anchored “Overdrive”, meanwhile the vitalized “Thrasher”, title cut, and burly album ender “Posers Must Die!” hoist the unapologetically tedious “Freedom Fighters” away from the speedier path roamed by the urgently impending “Metallic Attack” and rumbling core of “Heavier than Hell”. Of all the tracks featured, these last two are the main keepers to the speedier metal gate.

If metal heart were the sole basis of score, they’d have an easy A on their hands. But heart only goes so far, and ultimately the proof is in the B-level pudding. Even a high fist held aloft with this much metallic muscle gets tired.